In our third edition of Women in Procurement, we’re shining a spotlight on Lidia Pynoo – in her most recent role focusing on procurement and logistics as Director Logistics EMEA at Greif, a global packaging company with $6 bn turnover, headquartered in Ohio, US.
In this blog Lidia discusses her early experiences in her Procurement career beginning in Germany and her decision to relocate to the UK. As well as her time in male dominated workplaces and juggling motherhood whilst progressing in her Procurement profession.
Can you tell us about your journey into procurement and how you got started in the industry?
How I got into procurement was very accidental. I would love to say that I have always wanted to become a procurement professional and I never wanted to do anything else – but fact is, I didn’t even know what this word meant before I started to practice procurement around 20 years ago.
I had a very broad interest such as law, finance, business and literature; so it was hard to pick a university and only one career path. At the end and as my first degree, I studied economics with major economic diplomacy and international relations – and my straight forward career path, should I have pursued, would have been to work at an EU or governmental institution. (Later on, I continued with international business and started also with legal studies)
However, life took some twists and turns. I accepted a job which was tailored for entry level candidates in the freight forwarding industry, which was geographically close to my love interest (who later became my husband and partner of 23 years now!). After the provided intensive training with certification, I started to work in logistics with both operational and procurement focus, and soon I was sourcing, negotiating rates and agreements,managing suppliers and analysing market trends.
Since then I have been building my journey in supply chain, procurement and logistics; with the first successes I began to really enjoy it. Procurement quickly became a big part of my professional identity as well as my passion. I found that the profession suited my personality; I can be my authentic self and make use of my broad skillset and interests. If you are a cost conscious person who like to buy and overall plan strategically, build trustworthy relationships and improve things day by day, you can´t go wrong with working in procurement.
Have you faced any specific challenges as a woman in procurement?
I have indeed faced some challenges as a woman during my career, in procurement and in general.
However, I have consciously tried to follow some guiding principles. At the beginning of my career I often doubted myself, took things to heart and it was not always easy to remove emotions from the equation, or to reduce them. I was often the youngest person or the only woman in the room. However I never wanted fear to steer my actions and hinder me from doing something. I consciously identified challenges I was afraid of, tried to push myself out of my comfort zone and act against self-inflicted fears. Stay pragmatic, learn, bounce back, carry on. Also, I tried to find my slice in the pie. My goal was to identify my strengths, the areas and initiatives I can excel at, and tried to build on those to gain trust, appreciation and grow further.
Many years ago in my career, the representative of a major supplier didn’t take me seriously and treated me very differently than my male counterparts. unfortunately his actions were very obviously motivated by gender bias. I felt frustrated at the time, but it was part of a learning curve. It never hindered me to believe in building trustworthy relationships with strategic suppliers and work in a collaborative way – on the contrary, it has become one of my strengths.
Also, it has been challenging to return to work after maternity leave, especially as my goal was to further progress with my career. Supply chain and procurement is demanding profession which often requires travelling, which was especially more the norm pre-Covid, before remote/hybrid working methods and widespread digitalisation.
Therefore it was not easy to balance career with family. As my environment at that time was not suitable to support my aspirations, I decided to relocate with my 1 year-old and with my partner to the UK, with one suitcase and right after the Brexit decision. Many of our friends and families were very puzzled by our move at that time and asked if I was nervous about this move. But to me it felt logical and right. Our new employers and environment were supportive, and we could balance career, travelling and family well.
Are there any specific initiatives or networks that have supported you as a woman in procurement?
I was part of a talent development programme for selected individuals, during which my team and I were assigned by our EMEA C-suite with a special project to develop a career development programme for young professionals (irrespective of gender). I met and got to know some very talented male and female peers throughout the process. I was also part of a mentorship programme (again not gender specific) as mentee, and I had an excellent male mentor.
I have worked in a male dominated profession and mostly at male dominated companies, some having less than 20% female employment. With some exceptions, I have had male managers, and I am fortunate to say that most of them were great, supportive professionals.
During my early career I would have loved to have more female role models in leadership roles; to see how female leads handle conflicts, how they balance their career with family life and in general to see real-life examples in corporate settings.
Why do you think women should choose procurement as a career path?
I certainly find procurement a great career path for women, if they are looking for a profession where they can make use of their emotional intelligence and their interpersonal skills. For me, these traits have been great to conduct supplier negotiations, reach an advantageous outcome and to strategically develop relationships with suppliers. Tenacity, persistence, good technical & analytical skills,– will also certainly help to become a good procurement professional.
During my career I am very proud to have been recognised by various awards either as individual procurement talent, or together with my project team or my supplier. For example, “The Best Project Award” by SHV Holdings recognised our team’s significant cost savings and process improvements through a strategic sourcing project, or the “Supplier of the Year” award by Axalta recognised the joint value creation through strategic business planning with my supplier.
However along with awards I am also very proud of the teams I have built and the people I have worked with.
When your team takes your advice, not because they have to, but because they believe in your vision and that you can help them as a team to succeed. There is nothing more rewarding than a team that collaborates, complements each other, finds joy in their work and has great successes together.
To be a role model for a woman in procurement and provide support to such talented procurement professionals has been such a proud moment in my career.
We’re proud to feature Lidia in our Women in Procurement series — a platform to share real stories, champion female leaders, and inspire the next generation of procurement professionals.
Be sure to connect with Lidia on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lidia-pynoo-05984814a/
